Sask. Party called out for more secrecy with their GTH scandal

November 21, 2017

The Sask. Party has once again been called out for not following the rules and refusing to come clean. This time, it was the Privacy Commissioner who criticized them for not doing the required work to release emails related to the Sask. Party’s GTH scandal as requested through freedom of information.

Whether it’s getting access to important information on the Sask. Party’s GTH scandal, ministerial emails, or details on the land bought and expropriated for the Regina bypass, the Sask. Party have gone to great lengths to stop the people of Saskatchewan from getting the information they need to know the truth,” said NDP GTH Critic Cathy Sproule. “The Sask. Party have not only broken their promise to be the most accountable government in the history of the province, they have gone in the opposite direction.”

Beyond refusing to release documents, the Sask. Party have consistently blocked the NDP’s attempts to bring key witnesses forward to answer questions about their GTH scandal. The Minister of Justice has also refused to ensure that documents about land purchased for the Regina Bypass be released in a clear way. Additional questions about cabinet secrecy were also raised after the Premier was caught using his partisan email account – housed on a server at the Sask. Party office – to do government business. He also used that e-mail to access information from an FOI and use it to develop and implement a strategy to control the release of GTH information.

“The Sask. Party are clearly not working for Saskatchewan people,” Sproule said. “Saskatchewan people deserve a government that works for them and is honest with them. The Sask. Party’s cover-ups for their mismanagement, scandal and waste are not fooling anyone and it’s long past time that we see some of the openness and transparency that we were promised.”